The Sir Tom Cowie Charitable Trust is a grant-making charity established by the late Sir Tom Cowie in 2002. Since then over £2m of funding has been awarded to projects in County Durham and the City of Sunderland.

Following Sir Tom’s death in 2012, the Trustees decided that it was necessary to refocus the grant giving and looked to provide guidance to applicants, both in terms of projects that were most likely to receive support.

 Accordingly, the following geographic and funding purposes were agreed:- Geographically, the Trust primarily supports projects in the City of Sunderland where Sir Tom was born, the area of Derwentside in County Durham where he lived, and the valleys of Teesdale and Weardale, which were landscapes he loved.

The primary purpose of the Trust is to fund projects which provide opportunities for young people and improve quality of life in less affluent communities in the City of Sunderland and County Durham. In addition, the Trust looks to support projects looking to link people living in the urban environment with the countryside and the natural environment. The Trustees would also look to support projects proposing to conserve and maintain historic and important buildings and projects looking to conserve and maintain wildlife and, particularly, threatened species in our region.

It should be noted that, whilst applications can be received that do not specifically match the above, such applications will be less likely to receive funding.

This website provides information about the Trust and the kinds of projects it has supported. If you think your project may be eligible for funding, please read the Application Guidelines before completing and returning the Application Form to the Trust Adminstrator.